Whose name is attached to the first scientific description of the coelacanth?
Quick Answer
The first scientific description of the living coelacanth is credited to J. L. B. Smith, who identified the famous East African specimen in 1938. The fish was thought extinct for about 66 million years before that discovery.
The Full Story
The modern coelacanth was famously identified by South African ichthyologist J. L. B. Smith in 1938, after a specimen was brought in from near East London, South Africa. Smith recognized it as a member of an ancient group of lobe-finned fishes once known only from fossils. The discovery stunned scientists because coelacanths were believed to have vanished with the dinosaurs about 66 million years earlier. A second living population was later found near the Comoros Islands, confirming that the fish still survives in deep ocean waters.
Key Facts
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